Overhead electrical conductor system



July 22 1924. Re. 15,876 v H. B. P. W-RENN ET AL OVERHEAD ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR SYSTEM Original Filed Nov. 1]. 1922 Reiuued July 22, 1924.

UNITED STATES Re. 15,876 PATENT cance s. r. Jilin Aioirsius s; ombfioenun or ctnvntnfin; 61 1510.

cvmfiexn erasures; doiwwcroe syslrnm. I

'Gflfiflal no; 1,459,114, ma has 19,1928 Se'rial at. 600,458, filed November 11, 1922. Application for reissue filed .Tune 4, 1924. Serial No. 717,912;

' tor Systems, of which. the following is a full,

clear, and exact descripti0n,refere'nce being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates. to. .overhead, c'onductor systems for electrical railwaysv and has particular reference toa system foruse in connection with heavy dutytyp'es of electric locomotives and motor cars.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide. an overheadsuspension system which shall comprise a main feeder conductor suspended in any Suitable manner and from which are supported aplurality of wear resisti'n contact. wires whichjshall receive current rofn said conductor at certain definite points. t .n.

Another object is to provi e an overhead suspension system which shall be composed of a plurality of contactwires arranged in such manner that movement of the collector thereover will causea movement of said contact wires in. advance" of said collector which shall serve to dislodge ice and snow from said wires.

Another object is to provide an overhead suspension system-which shall have aplurality of wires in direct contact with the collector at all times thereby p'rovidinga rnaximum area of contact which shall reduce arcing to a minimum. 7 I

Another object is to provide an overhead suspension system which shall, be so constructed as to provide flexibility between the collector andc'ontact wires and be devoidhof what are commonly referred to as hard spots. 1 A still further object isto provide a suspension system of the aforesaid character which shall be easy. to erect, andma'intain, Highly durable in operation, and which shall consist of few parts. e a ,1

With these-aha other olfj'ots in view, the invention consists in fliepvarious. novel features of construction and arrangement or combination, all of which will be fully described hereinafter and pointed out in the ap nded claims.

n the accompanying drawing wherein we have shown one form of our invention, Fig.

1 is a side elevation of a portion of an overhead, suspension employing our improved construction; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line ;22 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the clamps for fastening the contact wire to the main feeder conductor. Describing .the'various partsflby reference charactersl denotes a suitable supportfroi'n which a suspension cable 2 .is hung- A plurality of hangers 3 depend from cableQ at spaced intervals and these hangers support a main feeder conductor 4 which is adapted to transmit the electrical energyfor -the system. This conductoris -preferably made of a metal Which is a good colidllctflr of electricity; such as copper or phosphor bronze and @may be either of a solid or stranded naturel, r A

Suspended from feed wire 4 area plurality of contact wires Twhich may be made of steel or other Wear resisting, metal. In the present instance I have shown two contact wires although it will be understood that more. than two wires may be employed' for heavier currents where desired. Each Wire is provided with undercut portions 8 to form essentially {a dovetail cross section for the r cep i n of thefclamps E 0.1 th clamps is preferablyforrned of twopiec'es of metal fastened together in any suitable manner as by bolts 10 and screwsll and haying the upperendthereof shaped to receive the feed conductor fl; andthe lower end shaped to conform to the dovetailed portion of the contactwire. Y I y These c mps s r e a elect c 09 11.8 tionsbetween the main feeder conductorfl and the contact wires 7 and permit current to flowfrom said feed conductor to the contact wires at a plurality .of; points thereby reducing the resistance of the transfer to a miniInuIi c, i

,As, shown in exaggerated form in l, one of the wires 7 is suspended from eed conductor 4' by the aforesaid clamps attached at definite intervals along the main feeder. otfildl'lctor;and; the other of said contact r 's: is fas ned. in a s mi ar. mann raa points intermediate to the clamps of the first mentioned wire, thereby forming a series of overlapping loops for contact with a sliding or rolling collector.

It will be noted in this connection, that tor.

hangers 3 are attached to feed conductor 4 at points substantially midway of two adjacent clamps. This arrangement provides flexibility for the system and tends to eliminate what are commonly referred to as hard spots. In other words, as the collector moves over the contact 'wires 7, it will force them upward to the same level and the maximum upward movement of these wires will occur at the point where they cross, which is substantially the midpoint between two clamps. The hangers 3 are in vertical alignment with such midpoint and hence any upward thrust will be absorbed by the afore said upward movement of the contact wires at this point and will not be transmitted to the hangers.

As the collector moves over the contact wires, it will force them upward to the same level as previously described and thereby cause a relative shearing movement between said contact wires inadvance of the collec- This movement of the contact wires and the shearing efi'ect produced therefrom will serve to loosen and clear any ice or snow which might collect on the wires and such loosening and clearing of ice and snow will be in advance of the line of travel of the collector, thereby permitting the collector to make good electrical contact with the wires 7 at all times.

The system as a whole is insulated in any suitable manner as by insulators 12 interposed between cable 2 and the supports therefor.

It will be understood that where the term wire occurs in the specification and appended claims, such terms is used in its broadest sense to include a conductor in either the solid or stranded form.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. An electrical system of the character setfonth comprising a feeder wire, a plurality of contact wires positively and independently connected to said feeder wire to form a positive electrical connection therewith thereby to permit the transfer of electrical energy from such feeder Wire to said contact wires without arcing or sparking, said contact wires being arranged in a series of freely suspended overlapping loops whereby a shearing action between said contact wires will be effected at substantially all points along said Wires as a current collecting device moves therealong.

2. An electrical system of the character 7 set forth comprising a feeder wire, a plurality of contact wires positively and independently connected to said feeder wire at a plurality of points, said points of connection between said feeder wire and contact wires each serving as a positive electrical connection to permit the transfer of electrical energy from said feeder wire to said contact wires without arcing or sparking, said contact wires being arranged in a series of freely suspended overlapping loops whereby a shearing action between said'contact wires will be effected at substantially all points along said wires as a current collecting device moves therealong.

8. An electrical system of the character set forth comprising a suspension cable, a feeder wire of high conductivity suspended from said cable, and a plurality of wear resisting contact wires connected to said feeder wire, the points of connection of said feeder wire and suspension cable lying intermediate to the points of connection of said contact wires with said feeder wire.

4. An electrical system of the character set forth comprising a suspension cable, a feeder wire suspended from said suspension cable, and a plurality of contact wires connected to said feeder wire.

5. An electrical system of the character set forth comprising a suspension cable, a feeder wire suspended from said suspension cable, and a plurality of contact wires suspended from said feeder wire, said contact wires being arranged to define a series of overlapping loops, thereby to cause a shearin movement of one contact wire with an ad]aoent contact wire in advance of a collector moving thereon.

6. An electrical system of the character sea forth comprising a suspension cable, a feeder wire suspended from said suspension cable, and a pair of contact wires suspended from said feeder wire, one of said contact wires being connected to said feeder wire, at spaced intervals to define a series of loops, and the other of said contact wires being connected to said feeder wire intermediate to the points of connection of said first mentioned wire thereby to provide a second series of loops overlapping the first mentioned series of loops.

7. An electrical system of the character A set forth comprising a feeder wire and a plurality of contact wires clamped to said feeder wire at a plurality of points, said clamps serving as conductors for the transfer of electrical energy from said feeder wire to said contact wires.

In testimony whereof, we hereunto afiix our signatures.

HENRY B. P. WRENN. ALOYSIUS S. ODONOGHUE. 

